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UCI engineers host workshops in East Africa on UCI-developed precipitation technology

Since water is increasingly scarce in arid East Africa, the region’s scientists and engineers have an ongoing need to know about the latest satellite precipitation data and information systems. Experts from UCI’s Center for Hydrometeorology & Remote Sensing traveled to Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, in July to host workshops for government meteorologists and researchers from institutions in member states of the East African Community. Soroosh Sorooshian, UCI Distinguished Professor of civil & environmental engineering, instructed participants on the capabilities of the UCI-developed Precipitation Estimation From Remotely Sensed Information Using Artificial Neural Networks system. Launched in 1997, PERSIANN has evolved since then through continuous updates and additions and now includes a cloud classification system and a climate data record. Sorooshian’s colleague Phu Nguyen, UCI assistant adjunct professor of civil & environmental engineering, taught workshop attendees how to download and use the iRain smartphone app, a free, publicly available interface to the PERSIANN system. Developed by Nguyen and his collaborators at UCI and launched in 2016, iRain is available on iPhone and Android mobile devices. The app allows users to see real-time satellite precipitation readings, track extreme events locally and globally, and enter their own observations. “This workshop was quite useful to us from Tanzania. The use of satellite-based rainfall estimates is of growing importance due to the limitations of ground gauge stations,” said Subira Munishi, a lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. “I appreciated the willingness of the instructors to work closely with us during the workshop, even going so far as to present the science behind the data. I welcome further collaboration with CHRS in the future.”

https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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UCI professor of education gets grant to help stem student phenomenon of ‘summer melt’

June Ahn, UCI associate professor of education, has been awarded a two-year, $397,000 grant from the Institute of Education Sciences under its researcher-practitioner partnerships program. Her project will explore how to scale mentorship via a text messaging application that incorporates social and emotional supports to help stem “summer melt,” in which motivated and academically prepared students – particularly minority and low-income – who have been accepted to college decide not to enroll. “We will be designing crowdsourced text messaging platforms to transmit college knowledge and support for the development of a college-bound identity and coordinate personal interactions between students and a large team, or ‘crowd,’ of mentors,” Ahn said. “We will be studying whether this interaction helps reduce summer melt patterns for college-accepted students in New York City, and our findings will generate preliminary evidence of the efficacy of this digital tool.” New York University, the New York University College Advising Corps and the City University of New York will also be involved in the project.

https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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National Academy of Education names UCI sociologist Paul Hanselman a Spencer Fellow

Paul Hanselman, UCI assistant professor of sociology, has been named a 2018 National Academy of Education Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow. The honor, which includes $70,000 in grant funding and is awarded annually to 30 early-career scholars engaged in critical areas of education research, supports Hanselman’s study of conditions fostering a growth mindset in school-age students. “Recent findings highlight the benefits of a growth mindset, the belief that intelligence is malleable, which leads to resilient responses to academic challenges,” he said. “Brief interventions promoting this mindset show positive impacts for low-achieving students.” His goal is understanding in what kinds of schools and classes students’ mindsets matter and how these conditions can be maximized to reduce educational inequalities. Hanselman will draw from a large-scale administrative data set that tracks the courses, academic progress and mindsets of middle and high school students in five large California school districts, as well as a new experimental test of mindset interventions among ninth-graders around the country. Taken together, the data will help explain factors encouraging a growth mindset and, in the process, academic success. The study builds on Hanselman’s previous research on social psychological interventions that change how students think about themselves and their social environment.

https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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State of the Art Stadium

    YESCO designed pylon sign with 10mm LED digital display for the new state of the art Banc of California Stadium/Los Angeles Football Club. The stadium will play host to both men’s and women’s soccer when Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics.   https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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The Beverly Center Renovation

    The Taubman Company engaged one of the world’s elite architectural firms, Fukas, to design the renovations for its elite retail center in the heart of Beverly Hills, California. The extensive $450 million exterior and interior project has transformed an aging shopping center into a modern and vibrant retail destination.   YESCO’s scope of […] https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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Paul Merage School of Business receives gift for endowed fund at the Center for Real Estate

The Paul Merage School of Business has received a $100,000 gift from the Bixby Land Co. to support the creation of a new endowed fund at the Center for Real Estate. The Bill Halford Family & Bixby Land Co. Student Award will provide merit-based monetary assistance to graduate or undergraduate students who have demonstrated a strong interest in pursuing real estate studies and participating in the center’s activities. “This gift is a tribute to Bill’s memory as a visionary leader who believed in supporting the next generation of real estate professionals,” said Ed Coulson, professor of economics and director of the Center for Real Estate. “He was a strong advocate of mentorship and worked with our leaders to launch our program.” Halford, who died earlier this year, was CEO of the Newport Beach-based commercial real estate developer Bixby Land Co. He appeared at UCI as a guest lecturer in various classes, planned and moderated educational symposiums at the center, and served as chairman of the Center for Real Estate advisory board in 2006. He received the center’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.

https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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Climate change-driven droughts are getting hotter, UCI study finds

Temperature increases during dry periods outpace average climate warming https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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Mother’s teenage smoking habit is key risk factor for low-birth-weight baby, UCI-led study finds

Such adverse natal outcomes are linked to intergenerational health, socioeconomic disadvantages https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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UCI to make a splash at innovation event

UCI will be featured prominently at this year’s Innovator of the Year Awards, hosted by the Orange County Business Journal. The keynote speaker at the event, to be held at Hotel Irvine on Sept. 20, is Richard Sudek, chief innovation officer and executive director at UCI Applied Innovation. Sudek’s organization is a dynamic, innovative central hub for the UCI campus, the business community, investors, inventors and entrepreneurs to collaborate and move UCI research from lab to market, with the ultimate goal of commercializing discoveries designed to benefit humankind and have an economic impact. “I am looking forward to speaking at the Innovator of the Year Awards event,” said Sudek, chairman emeritus of Tech Coast Angels and board member of the Angel Capital Association. “It will be a great opportunity to share some perspective on building a world-class entrepreneurial ecosystem to help with the creation of more startups and scale-ups here in Orange County.” Michael Dennin, UCI vice provost for teaching and learning, is a nominee for Innovator of the Year for his work in bringing the Anteater Learning Pavilion to fruition. When officially opened in September, the $60 million interdisciplinary facility will offer classrooms, auditoriums, meeting spaces and active learning environments for all UCI students and faculty.

https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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UCI awarded $9 million federal grant to gauge long-term effects of cannabis on adolescents

The National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded the UCI School of Medicine a four-year, $9 million grant aimed at determining the long-term impact of cannabis exposure on the adolescent brain. Led by Daniele Piomelli, professor of anatomy & neurobiology and director of the newly created UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis, a systematic series of preclinical studies will determine whether cannabis’s active ingredient can cause persistent changes in neural activity and behavior during adolescence. UCI’s Marcelo Wood, Christine Gall, Gary Lynch and Stephen Mahler will participate in the studies. The funding also establishes UCI’s only NIDA Center of Excellence, referred to as ICAL (Impact of Cannabinoids Across the Lifespan). “This grant will allow us to take great strides toward gaining a solid understanding of the true benefits and dangers of cannabis and may lead to better ways of preventing cannabis dependence,” Piomelli said. “It may also guide solid evidence-based public policy decisions concerning medicinal and recreational uses of cannabis, as well as inform the development of medications aimed at treating harmful diseases.”

https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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Former dean of the School of Humanities is named president of The Huntington Library

Karen Lawrence, UCI professor emerita of English and former dean of the School of Humanities (1998-2007), has been named president of The Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens in San Marino, effective Sept. 1. “We are thrilled that Karen has received this appointment,” said Tyrus Miller, current dean of the School of Humanities. “Her legacy at UCI speaks to her unwavering advocacy on behalf of the humanities, and we look forward to exploring partnership ideas that pair The Huntington’s rich historical resources with our faculty and student scholars.” During her tenure as dean, Lawrence established two centers: the International Center for Writing & Translation, for which she hired world-renowned writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o as founding director; and the Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture. Under her leadership, the School of Humanities also secured funding for two endowed chairs in Persian studies. Most recently, Lawrence was head of Sarah Lawrence College for 10 years.

https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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UCI graduate joins University of California Board of Regents

William T. Um ’90 will represent all UC alumni https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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Glaciers in East Antarctica also ‘imperiled’ by climate change, UCI researchers find

Usually seen as less vulnerable, they carry the potential to add 16 feet to global sea level https://goo.gl/ocZu62

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10 years of olive branches

Program focused on Middle East tensions has spread to other campuses, conflicts https://goo.gl/ocZu62